Course Description

The purpose of English 620 is to help international graduate students in their oral English proficiency in order to prepare them for positions as instructional teaching assistants in undergraduate classrooms.

Native English speaker proficiency and expression are not expected of OEPP students. The general expectation for certification is the ability to communicate in English without great effort or misunderstanding for all parties involved. Our goal is to assist students in developing skills in the goal areas (intelligibility, vocabulary, grammar, presentation and interactive communication) so that any deficiencies in skill or practice do not interfere with communication.

The language skills necessary for effective communication include:

• intelligible pronunciation, stress and intonation patterns;
• listening comprehension skills;
• vocabulary beyond that of the subject matter;
• control of English grammar;
• paraphrasing and elaboration skills;
• coherent organization of information at sentence and discourse levels;
• interactive skills to enhance comprehension.

Effective communication in the academic setting also requires an awareness of and sensitivity to:ot

• the values inherent in the American educational system;
• American students' expectations of instructors;
• verbal and non-verbal behavior appropriate for students and instructors;
• interaction between students and instructors;
• differences in styles and organization of classroom activities when the international students' educational contexts are compared to those at Purdue.

 For more information on the students in our program, see our student spotlights.